Music processing printer

Abstract

An audio processing device receives, processes, and outputs music and audio files to a variety of electronic and paper-based formats. In one embodiment, the audio processing device generates a score based on a music or audio file, and/or can match the file to melodies stored in a pre-existing database. In an embodiment, the audio processing device and a PC share the processing load. In yet another embodiment, the musical segments identified in a score are mapped to an audio or music file so that a user can access the specific segments at a later point.

We claim: 
     
       1. A method comprising:
 receiving by a printer audio/music data in a first format, wherein the printer is a device configured to print to a printable tangible medium; 
 storing, in an audio/music storage module embedded within the printer, the audio/music data in the first format, wherein the audio/music data in the first format comprises music data; 
 processing by a conversion module embedded within the printer the audio/music data to convert the audio/music data from the first format to a second format; 
 mapping musical content from the music data to a file in the second format; 
 assigning an identifier to a segment of the music data; and 
 outputting by the printer the processed audio/music data in the second format. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the identifier comprises a pointer to a medium. 
     
     
       3. A method comprising:
 receiving by a printer audio/music data in a first format, wherein the printer is a device configured to print to a printable tangible medium; 
 storing, in an audio/music storage module embedded within the printer, the audio/music data in the first format; 
 processing by a conversion module embedded within the printer the audio/music data to convert the audio/music data from the first format to a second format; 
 archiving the processed audio/music data; 
 indexing the archived audio/music data; and 
 outputting by the printer the processed audio/music data in the second format. 
 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 3 , wherein the step of indexing comprises assigning a bar code to the musical segment. 
     
     
       5. A method comprising:
 receiving by a printer audio/music data in a first format, wherein the printer is a device configured to print to a printable tangible medium; 
 storing, in an audio/music storage module embedded within the printer, the audio/musicdata in the first format; 
 processing by a conversion module embedded within the printer the audio/music data to convert the audio/music data from the first format to a second format; and 
 outputting by the printer processed audio/music data in the second format, wherein the processed audio/music data in the second format comprises a musical score. 
 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , further comprising processing the audio/music data responsive to commands provided by one from the group of:
 a print dialog, PDL comments, a print driver, and a graphical user interface networked with the printer. 
 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the audio/music data further comprises audio speech. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 7 , further comprising recognizing the audio speech. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the processed audio/music data comprises a file printable to a paper document. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 5 , wherein outputting the processed audio/music data comprises playing the audio/music data on a playback device. 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 5 , wherein outputting the processed audio/music data comprises storing the audio/music data to a storage medium. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the audio/music data in the first format comprises music data, and wherein the method further comprises:
 mapping musical content from the music data to a file in the second format. 
 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 5 , wherein the step of processing the audio/music data is performed in part by a device other than the printer and in part by the printer. 
     
     
       14. A method comprising:
 receiving by a printer audio/music data in a first format, wherein the printer is a device configured to print to a printable tangible medium; 
 storing, in an audio/music storage module embedded within the printer, the audio/music data in the first format; 
 processing by a conversion module embedded within the printer the audio/music data to convert the audio/music data from the first format to a second format; and 
 outputting by the printer the processed audio/music data in the second format, 
 wherein outputting the processed audio/music data comprises sending the audio/music data over a network. 
 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 14 , further comprising processing the audio/music data responsive to commands provided by one from the group of: a print dialog, PDL comments, a print driver, and a graphical user interface networked with the printer. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the audio/music data comprises audio speech. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the processed audio/music data comprises a file printable to a paper document. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 14 , wherein outputting the processed audio/music data further comprises playing the audio/music data on a playback device. 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 14 , wherein outputting the processed audio/music data further comprises storing the audio/music data to a storage medium. 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 14 , wherein the step of processing the audio/music data is performed in part by a device other than the printer and in part by the printer. 
     
     
       21. A method comprising:
 receiving by a printer audio/music data in a first format, wherein the printer is a device configured to print to a printable tangible medium: 
 storing, in an audio/music storage module embedded within the printer, the audio/music data in the first format, wherein the audio/music data in the first format comprises music data; 
 comparing a melody of the music data to a plurality of melodies; 
 matching the melody of the music data to one of the plurality of melodies; 
 processing by a conversion module embedded within the printer the audio/music data to convert the audio/music data from the first format to a second format; and 
 outputting by the printer the processed audio/music data in the second format. 
 
     
     
       22. A method comprising:
 receiving by a printer audio/music data in a first format, wherein the printer is a device configured to print to a printable tangible medium; 
 storing, in an audio/music storage module embedded within the printer, the audio/music data in the first format, wherein the audio/music data in the first format comprises music data; 
 parsing the music data by musical segment; 
 processing by a conversion module embedded within the printer the audio/music data to convert the audio/music data from the first format to a second format; and 
 outputting by the printer the processed audio/music data in the second format. 
 
     
     
       23. The method of  claim 22 , wherein the musical segment comprises one from the group of: a piece, song, stanza, movement, bar, chorus, and riff. 
     
     
       24. The emthod of  claim 22 , wherein the processed audio/music data comprises a file printable to a paper document. 
     
     
       25. The method of  claim 22 , wherein the step of processing the audio/music data is performed in part by a device other than the printer and in part by the printer. 
     
     
       26. A method comprising:
 receiving by a printer audio/music data in a first format, wherein the printer is a device configured to print a printable tangible medium; 
 storing, in an audio/music storage module embedded within the printer, the audio/music data in the first format; 
 indexing the audio/music data according to its audio content; 
 processing by a conversion module embedded within the printer the audio/music data to convert the audio/music data from the first format to a second format; and 
 outputting by the printer the processed audio/music data in the second format. 
 
     
     
       27. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the step of processing the audio/music data is performed in part by a device other than the printer and in part by the printer. 
     
     
       28. The method of  claim 26 , wherein the processed audio/music data comprises a file printable to a paper document. 
     
     
       29. A printer for outputting a processed audio/music file comprising:
 an interface for receiving audio/music data in a first format; 
 an audio/music storage module embedded within the printer for storing the received audio/music data; 
 a processor embedded within the printer and communicatively coupled to the audio/music storage module for processing the audio/music data; 
 a conversion module embedded within the printer and communicatively coupled to the processor and the audio/music storage module for converting the audio/music data from the first format to an electronic format and to a printable format; and 
 an output system embedded within the printer for outputting the processed audio/music data in the electronic format and for printing the processed audio/music data in the printable format to a tangible printable medium, 
 wherein the output system comprises a disk drive capable of outputting electronic data. 
 
     
     
       30. The printer of  claim 29 , wherein the first format comprises an analog music file. 
     
     
       31. The printer of  claim 29 , further comprising a command module for automatically determining the conversion pathway of the audio/music data in the first format to a file in an output format wherein the conversion pathway comprises at least a conversion of the audio/music data in the first format to a second format, and a conversion from the second format to the output format. 
     
     
       32. A printer for outputting a processed audio/music file comprising:
 an interface for receiving audio/music data in a first format; 
 an audio/music storage module embedded within the printer for storing the received audio/music data; 
 a processor embedded within the printer and communicatively coupled to the audio/musicstorage module for processing the audio/music data; 
 a conversion module embedded within the printer and communicatively coupled to the processor and the audio/music storage module for converting the audio/music data from the first format to an electronic format and to a printable format; and 
 an output system embedded within the printer for outputting the processed audio/music data in the electronic format and for printing the processed audio/music data in the printable format to a tangible printable medium, wherein the output system comprises a transmitter to broadcast audio/music data. 
 
     
     
       33. The printer of  claim 32 , wherein the first format comprises an analog music file. 
     
     
       34. A printer for outputting a processed audio/music file comprising:
 an interface for receiving audio/music data in a first format; 
 an audio/music storage module embedded within the printer for storing the received audio/music data; 
 a processor embedded within the printer and communicatively coupled to the audio/music storage module for processing the audio/music data; 
 a conversion module embedded within the printer and communicatively coupled to the processor and the audio/music storage module for converting the audio/music data from the first format to an electronic format and to a printable format, wherein the conversion module is configured to automatically convert the sudio/music file from the first format into the electronic format or the printable format by converting the sudio/music file from the first format into a second format and from the second format into the electronic format and the printable format; and 
 an output system embedded within the printer for outputting the processed audio/music data in the electronic format and for printing the processed audio/music data in the printable format to a tangible printable medium. 
 
     
     
       35. The printer of  claim 34 , wherein the electronic format comprises one from the group of an: electronic score, .wav, .MIDI, and .mp 3 . 
     
     
       36. A printer for
 outputting a processed audio/music file comprising: 
 an interface for receiving audio/music data in a first format; 
 an audio/music storage module embedded within the printer for storing the received audio/music data; 
 a processor embedded within the printer and communicatively coupled to the audio/music storage module for processing the audio/music storage module for converting the audio/music data from the first format to an electronic format and to a printable format; 
 a scoring module for creating a score based on the audio/music data; and 
 an output system embedded within the printer for outputting the processed audio/music data in the electronic format and for printing the processed audio/music data in the printable format to a tangible printable medium. 
 
     
     
       37. The printer of  claim 36 , wherein the output system is configured to output the processed audio/music data to at least one of the group of: a printed document, an analog file, an optical disk, a portable device memory, a networked server, and a networked display. 
     
     
       38. The printer of  claim 36 , wherein the output system is configured to output the processed audio/music data to a digital format and to at least one of the group of: a printed document, an analog file, and a networked display. 
     
     
       39. The printer of  claim 36 , wherein the first format comprises an analog music file. 
     
     
       40. The printer of  claim 36 , further comprising a command module for automatically determining the conversion pathway of the audio/music data in the first format to a file in an output format wherein the conversion pathway comprises at least a conversion of the audio/music data in the first format to a second format, and a conversion from the second format to the output format. 
     
     
       41. A printer for
 outputting a processed audio/music file comprising: 
 an interface for receiving audio/music data in a first format; 
 an audio/music storage module embedded within the printer for storing the received audio/music data; 
 a processor embedded within the printer and communicatively coupled to the audio/music storage module for processing the audio/music data; 
 a parsing module for segmenting the audio/music file responsive to its audio content; 
 a conversion module embedded within the printer and communicatively coupled to the processor and the audio/music storage module for converting the audio/music data from the first format to an electronic format and to a printable format; and 
 an output system embedded within the printer for outputting the processed audio/music data in the electronic format and for printing the processed audio/music data in the printable format to a tangible printable medium. 
 
     
     
       42. The printer of  claim 41 , wherein the first format comprises an analog music file.